The present invention relates generally to sol-gel processes and more particularly to encapsulation of living cells using sol-gel processes.
Recent advances in technology have allowed for the integration of man-made substances with cellular materials to create a new class of living composite devices. Such devices have the ability to respond dynamically with biological functionality to their local environment.
One potential class of synthetic material for hybrid cellular applications is sol-gel derived silica glasses. Such materials are biocompatible in soft and hard tissue applications. Silica based sol-gels also possess a mesoporous architecture, allowing free diffusion of small molecules while preventing penetration of larger structures such as cells. Sol-gels can be synthesized at room temperature in aqueous environments with specialized formulations capable of generating non-cytotoxic liquid intermediate sols.
Traditionally cell immobilization using sol-gel methods results in cell entrapment within bulk materials creating significant diffusion barriers. Current technology to create thin coatings around cells required aerosolizing processes to apply silica based sol-gels to biological materials. The aerosolizing processes require vaporizing the sol-gel precursors and then contacting the vapor to the cell surface. These processes are inefficient, expensive, and are limited in the types of silica precursors and co-dopants that can be used. In addition only a 2D planar entrapment layer is formed.
Therefore it would be desirable to have a method for forming thin sol-gel layers on biological materials and cells that is efficient, cost effective, simple, able to create 3D thin layers, and flexible for entrapment of a range of materials from single cells to tissues.